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The “Ripple Effect”: cultural differences in subjective perceptions of responsibility

Maddux, William W.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1092223803

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Previous research has demonstrated that East Asians make broader causal attributions for behaviors than Westerners. In the current research, it was hypothesized that East Asians would also take responsibility for a broader distribution of consequences of events. This hypothesis was supported in 4 studies. In a content analysis investigating both Japanese and American newspaper articles (Study 1), evidence suggested that Japanese journalists focus more on responsibility for the distal consequences of certain events compared to American journalists. Furthermore, in three cross-cultural experiments involving hypothetical scenarios (Studies 2-4), Japanese participants held themselves responsible to a larger number of people than Americans, and perceived themselves as more responsible for distal consequences, whereas Americans perceived themselves as more responsible for proximal consequences. Study 4 demonstrated that individual differences in holistic thinking were related to the ripple effect, but did not necessarily mediate the cultural difference. Overall the results support the hypothesis that Japanese hold themselves responsible for a broader range of consequences for events than Americans do. Implications for our understanding of cross-cultural psychology, and for our understanding of holistic/analytic cognition, are discussed.
Marilynn Brewer (Advisor)
61 p.
Psychology, Social
culture; cognition; responsibility

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Maddux, W. W. (2004). The “Ripple Effect”: cultural differences in subjective perceptions of responsibility [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1092223803

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Maddux, William. The “Ripple Effect”: cultural differences in subjective perceptions of responsibility. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1092223803.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Maddux, William. "The “Ripple Effect”: cultural differences in subjective perceptions of responsibility." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1092223803

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1092223803
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© 2004, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.